A worldwide unique Swiss invention: the solar folding roof HORIZON
Key takeaways
"Without it, we would have had to fund the feasibility study with our equity or cash flow. The Horizon 2020 label is a big door opener. We have been able to tap into a network we didn't have access to before."
"Without it, we would have had to fund the feasibility study with our equity or cash flow. The Horizon 2020 label is a big door opener. We have been able to tap into a network we didn't have access to before."
Today, photovoltaic electricity is still most often generated with roof systems. However, there is further potential that is still rarely used – namely over industrial, logistics and parking areas that are already in use. The young Graubünden-based company dhp technology has developed such a dual use: the HORIZON folding solar roof. The lightweight construction of the solar folding roof and the cable-based support structure concept allow for wide distances between supports and great heights above the ground. The area below can continue to be used without restriction. Together with the cable technology and the patented folding mechanism, the solar folding roof protects itself from hail, storms and snow and produces electricity in snowy regions even in winter.
dhp technology AG was founded in 2015 by Gian Andri Diem and Andreas Hügli. Various awards–including the Watt d’Or, the Swiss Solar Prize and, most recently, the Swiss Future Prize – attest to the lighthouse character of the solar folding roof.
What was the idea at the beginning? Gian Andri Dieme explains: “Our living space is becoming increasingly dense, and the construction of open-space solar plants is problematic in large parts of Europe. We want to provide an answer to how sustainable electricity can be produced without putting additional pressure on space and ground. With our solution, we open up areas for the production of solar power without restricting its primary use. Conventional plants can’t do that.”
Only two years after the company was founded, the first solar folding roof over the wastewater treatment plant in Chur was put into operation as a pilot project. Bringing an innovation to market is always a challenge. Nobody knows the application, there are no empirical values yet. “The first funders, partners and customers had to be convinced with a lot of heart, enthusiasm, reliable work and performance. Fortunately, we have received a lot of positive feedback. The local energy supplier IBC Energie Wasser Chur as well as the city of Chur were enthusiastic about a pilot project, otherwise we wouldn’t have come this far. The technological development was also an exciting challenge, as many different disciplines are interconnected,” says Gian Andri Diem.
Eurosearch and Enterprise Europe Network helped dhp find a specialist in the industrial manufacturing process and helped with resources, advice and PR. Thanks to a grant from Industrial Leadership SME Instrument, dhp technology has been able to prove HORIZON’s potential for the European market. “Without it, we would have had to fund the feasibility study with our equity or cash flow. The Horizon 2020 label is a big door opener. We have been able to tap into a network we didn’t have access to before.“
While production was still largely manual in the 2017 pilot project, a fully automated production line has been in operation since the end of 2019. In 2020/21, 12 projects could be built with it. A further 20 solar folding roof projects in Switzerland and abroad are currently in various stages of planning and execution.
Andreas Hügli explains: “For a project to be economical, we need an area of at least 1,000 m2. We started with wastewater treatment plants because we see great potential there worldwide. These plants are ideal because they are among the largest consumers of electricity in municipalities. With the solar folding roof, sewage treatment plants can switch to energy-efficient operation and produce part of the energy they need locally.”
As a second and third focus, dhp is targeting operators of large parking and logistics areas. The times of increasing electrification of mobility play into dhp’s hands. The solar folding roof comes with the charging infrastructure and turns every asphalt surface into a charging station for private and commercial vehicles. The first car park project above the car park of the Kronbergbahn in Appenzell could be realised in 2020.
Find more about HORIZON here.
